Tire loading and trueing apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for loading and trueing tires. A threaded rod supported by a pair of upstanding arms receives the tire and is rotatably driven. A floating roadbed having parallel rollers for contacting and loading the tire is forced against the tire by an expandable bag. The upstanding arms and tire are movable toward a cutting blade. A disc mounted to one end of the threaded rod receives graph paper on its outer surface, and a marking stylus is positioned over the graph paper being driven by a rod clamped to the floating roadbed.

United States Patent n 1 Schildmeier [54] TIRE LOADING AND TRUEINGAPPARATUS [76] Inventor: John Henry Schildmeler, 6038 Crows Nest Drive,Indianapolis, Ind. 46208 [22] Filed: Dec. 14, 1970 [21] Appl. No.:97,903

[52] 0.8. CI ..157/13 [51] Int. Cl. ..B29h 21/08 [58] Field of Search..l57/l 3 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,595,295 7/1971Curry ..157/l3 3,506,055 4/1970 Bridgewater Mooney ..157/l3 [451 Jan. 2,1973 3,556,194 1/1971 Farrington ..l57/l3 Primary Examiner-Granville Y.Custer, Jr.

Attorney-Woodard, Weikart, Emhardt & Naughton [5 7] ABSTRACT Anapparatus for loading and trueing tires. A threaded rod supported by apair of upstanding arms receives the tire and is rotatably driven. Afloating roadbed having parallel rollers for contacting and loading thetire is forced against the tire by an expandable bag. The upstandingarms and tire are movable toward a cutting blade. A disc mounted to oneend of the threaded rod receives graph paper on its outer surface, and amarking stylus is positioned over the graph paper being driven by a rodclamped to the floating roadbed.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAN 2197a SHEET 1 BF 3 mmum\ATTORNEYS P'A'TENTEDJM' 2 ms SHEET 2 [1F 3 m m mm NM Em WA Wm M m m WM M0 Jmmm m Fig.2.

PATENTEU 21973 I 3 708 O08 sum 3 or 3 INVENTOR Jul-IN flew/2)SCH/LDME/EE aimlmiujwhtziw W231 ATTORNEYS 1 TIRE LOADING AND TRUEINGAPPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention Thisinvention relates generally to a loading and trueing machine for tires,and more particularly to such an apparatus with a floating roadbedconnected to an indicator.

2. Description of the Prior Art Synthetic tires develop temporary flatspots when statically loaded. For example, an automobile havingsynthetic tires will develop flat spots at the point of contact betweenthe ground and the tires when the automobile is parked or standing stillfor a period of time. These flat spots may be eliminated by dynamicloading of the tires typically by driving the automobile. Thus, theoriginal casing memory is restored to the tires and the tires willassume a generally round configuration.

A tire may be out-of-round even though the flat spots resulting fromstatic loading have been eliminated. The tread surface of circumferenceof the tire is in this case not perfectly circular with respect to thecenter axis of the mounting rim. It has been determined that anautomobile tire having a size of 8.55 by 14 when driven at anapproximate speed of 60 mph. will develop a thumping movement which maybe felt through the steering column if the tire is more than 0.030inches out-of-round. It has been the practice in the industry to rotatethese out-of-round ties and to cut off the high areas of the tirethereby producing a generally round tire. Two such devices are disclosedin the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,986,205 issued to Okerstrom and3,003,545 issued to Peacock.

It can be appreciated that synthetic tires must first be dynamicallyloaded to eliminate the flat spots and return the original casing memoryto the tire prior to cutting the high areas from the tire. The priorpractice has been to mount the out-of-round tire to an automobile or toa loading machine to restore casing memory. The tire must then beremoved from the automobile or loading machine and mounted to a cuttingmachine such as one of those disclosed in the above two patents. Thepresent invention is an apparatus which allows the tire to be loaded torestore the casing memory and then to be cut removing the high placesfrom the tire without requiring the transfer of the tire to anothermachine. A pair of indicators are provided on the machine to provide anapproximate and an exact determination of the out-ofroundness of thetire. These indicators may be arranged to measure the movement of afloating roadbed which dynamically loads the tire.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A tire loading and trueing apparatus. A tireholder receives the tire and is operable to axially rotate the tire. Thetire and tire holder are movable toward a cutting blade operable toremove a portion of the tread surface from the rotating tire. A floatingroadbed movable against the tread surface restores the casing memory tothe tire. An expandable bag is operable to force the bed against thetread surface of the tire thereby radially loading the rotating tire.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus foranalyzing the roundness of the tire which also has loading and cuttingmeans for producing a I round tire.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tireloading and trueing apparatus which allows axial loading of the tire andthen cutting of the tire without the necessity for transferring the tireto an additional machine.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a tire loadingand trueing apparatus having a pneumatically driven floating roadbed forrestoring the easing memory to the tire.

In conjunction with the above objects, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide a tire loading and trueing apparatus having anindicator for recording movement of the floating roadbed.

Related objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side perspective view ofthetire loading and trueing apparatus incorporating the present invention.

FIG. 2 is the same view as FIG. 1 with the tire removed from theapparatus and with the floating roadbed positioned in a differentlocation.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. Iparticularly showing the graph and stylus indicating means.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED I EMBODIMENT For the purposes of promotingan understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will nowbe made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawing and specificlanguage will be used to describe the same. It will neverthelessbeunderstood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is therebyintended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrateddevice, and such further applications of the principles of the inventionas illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to oneskilled in the art to which the invention relates.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a tire loadingand trueing apparatus 15 having a tire 16 mounted thereon. The tire ismade from synthetic material having a tread surface 17 and being mountedon a standard automobile or truck rim 18. FIG. 2 is the same view asFIG. 1 only with the tire removed from the apparatus. A threaded rod 19is rotatably driven by a motor within cabinet 59 and extends freelythrough bearings 48 provided in arm 47 fixedly mounted to base 24. Aconical female sleeve 57 is fixedly secured to threaded rod 19 having ahollow interior 58 for partially receiving conical male sleeve 56 (FIG.1). Sleeve 56 is threadedly received by threads 55 of rod 19 and extendsthrough the center of rim 18 into interior 58. Thus, the tire and rimmay be securely mounted between sleeves S6 and 57. The free end of rod19 has threads 54 for receiving a hexagonally shaped nut 22-. Arm 21 isfixedly mounted to channel 60 having three parallel rods 49 extendingthrough bearings 50 of base 24. Bearings 20 are provided in'the top endof arm 21 for rotatably receiving threaded rod 19. After the tire andrim have -been installed on rod 19, sleeve 56 is then threaded onto therod and arm 21 is moved toward the tire until rod 19 extends out throughbearings 20. Nut 22 is then threaded on rod 19. A pair of locking levers51 are pivotally mounted to the sides of base 24 having locking pins 53for positioning in holes 52 of rods 49. Thus, when channel 60 abuts base24 holes 52 are aligned with pins 53 and levers 51 may be pivoted inwardto the position shown in FIG. 1 thereby locking channel 60 and arm 21 inplace.

Base 24 is movable in a direction toward or opposite of arrow 63 bythreaded rod 93 fixedly connected to a guided bearing box on slide guiderails 91 for moving threaded rod 19 to cabinet 62. Threaded rod 93 isconnected to suitable crank handles to enable the operator to move base24 to and from cabinet 62. The base has multiple bearings which ride inchannel 45 formed by bar 44. Only one bearing 43 is shown in FIG. 1;however, it is understood that many bearings identical to bearings 43are provided along the side of base 24 enabling the base to be movedfreely toward and from cabinet 62. A top bar 23 attached to cabinet 61is positioned adjacent channel 45 to prevent bearings 43 fromdisengaging the channel. The free end 64 of base 24 is spaced away fromthe floor and may have suitable rollers or wheels positioned thereunderfor supporting base 24. Rod 19 extends into cabinet 59 which is slidablymounted on rails 90 and 91 atop cabinet 61. Thus, horizontal movement ofbase 24 also results in horizontal movement of cabinet 59 with respectto cabinet 61. A floating roadbed 25 (FIG. 1) has three parallel rollers30, 31 and 32 rotatably mounted within frame 29. Fixedly attached to theends of frame 29 are channels 26 and 41 which slidingly engagerespectively arms 21 and 47. Channel 26 has a pair of top bearings 27and a pair of bottom bearings 28 which engage the sides of arm 21thereby allowing the bed to move in a vertical direction. Likewise,channel 41 has a pair of top and bottom bearings 42 for slidinglyengaging arm 47. A standard expandable air bag 39 has a bottom endattached to base 24 and a top end attached to frame 29. The rollers ofbed 25 may be forced against tread surface 17 by pressurizing bag 39.Synthetic tires typically develop a flat spot within the casing of thetire. This results from the force of the vehicle on the tire when thetire is not rotating. Subsequent rotation of the tire while loadedresults in restoration of the casing memory thereby eliminating the flatspot. The rollers of the floating roadbed are forced against tire 16producing a flat loading contact area 40 while the tire is rotating.This will sufficiently load the tire so as to even-.

tually restore the casing memory to the tire eliminating the flat spots.The cutting operation may then be performed on the tire as will bedescribed later in the specification. 7

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the apparatus shown in FIG.I particularly showing an indicator which provides a permanent record ofthe tires contour. Threaded rod 19 extends through cabinet 59 and isrotatably driven by a conventional motor 71. The opposite end of rod 19extends through the outer wall 72 of cabinet 59 and is fixedly attachedto indicator disc plate 65. Thus, plate 65 will rotate one revolutionwith every revolution of axle 19 and tire 16. Graph paper 67 isremovably mounted to plate 65 by magnetic strips or other suitablefastening devices. A stylus 66 having a marking end 79 for producing amark on paper 67 is fixedly attached to bracket 68 mounted to the end ofrod 69. The opposite end of rod 69 is fixedly attached to bracket 70secured to rod 34. Rod 34 (FIG. 1) extends downward and has a freebottom end 74. Rod 34 passes freely through tube 33 integrally attachedto frame 29. Tube 33 is provided with an opening 37 aligned adjacent toarcuate shaped clamp 38. An air cylinder 36 mounted to bracketintegrally attached to frame 29 has a movable piston rod 76 attached toclamp 38. Thus, activation of pneumatic cylinder 36 results in clamp 38passing through opening 37 of tube 33 and allows the clamp to grip rod34. Rod 34 will then move vertically along with bed 25. Movement of rod34 is translated into markings by stylus 66. For example, a high spot intire 16 will result in downward movement of bed 25. Assuming the clamp38 is abutting against rod 34, the downward movement of bed 25 willforce rod 34 to move in the direction of arrow 77 (FIG. 3). Downwardmovement of rod 34 will result in rotation of rod 69 in the direction ofarrow 78 thereby forcing the marking tip 79 of'stylus 66 away from thecenter 80 of graph paper 67. Thus, a high spot of the tire will bemarked as a high spot or bump on graph paper 67. A similar analysisapplies for a low spot of the tire.

Box 81 (FIG. 2) is movably mounted atop a bowed spring 83 fixedlyfastened to cabinet 62. Box 81 has a cutting blade 82 which is utilizedto cut the tire. Box 81 may be moved along the bowed spring 83 therebyallowing cutter 82 to follow the general convex shape of the tire treadsurface. Blade sharpeners 87 and 88 are mounted to box 81 and may bemoved in toward blade 82 for sharpening purposes. Box 81 as well as thecutting blade and sharpeners are quite conventional and are well knownin the art. Such a blade and sharpeners are disclosed in US. Pat. Nos.2,986,205 and 3,003,545. A standard needle indicator 84 is mounted tobox 81 having a needle 86 which may be moved to abut the tread surfaceof the tire. The needle is connected to a numbered gage face 85 on theindicator to indicate the position of the needle. Thus, as the box ismoved along spring 83 needle 86 will follow the contour of the tirethereby indicating the high and low spots.

After the tire has been mounted to rod 19 and rotation of the tire hasbeen initiated, pneumatic bag 39 should be pressurized forcing rollers30, 31 and 32 of bed 25 to engage the tire producing the loaded surface40 as shown in FIG. 1. Continued rotation of the tire while loaded bybed 25 for a short duration, approximately 1 minute, will restore thecasing memory to the tire and eliminate any flat spots in the tireresulting from static loading of the tire. Base 24 is then moved towardcabinet 62 along with tire 16 by withdrawing rod 46 slowly into cabinet62. Eventually, cutting blade 82 will abut the tread surface of the tirethereby cutting the-tire. The cutting blade may be swung across thetread surface of the tire by moving box 81 along spring 83. After aninitial cut has been accomplished, cylinder 36 is energized therebyclamping rod 34 securely to frame-29. Thus, movement of bed 25 will alsoresult in vertical movement of rod 34. A permanent record of the outlineof the tire is then marked onto the graph paper. A rough approximationof the out-of-roundness of the tire is thus provided by the graph paper.In the event that a more accurate measurement is desired, in-

dicator 84 may be utilized. The needle indicator provides an exactmeasurement down to'0.00l inch while the graph indicator provides onlyan approximation. In the event that the tire is out-of-roundsufiiciently so as to be unacceptable, an additional cut may be taken.

The permanent record of the outline of the tire marked on the graphpaper provides a permanent record or history of the tire. In addition,the graph paper indicator provides a quick approximation of the out ofroundness of the tire whereas the needle indicator, although not as easyto read as the graph paper indicator, provides a more accuratedetermination of the out of roundness. In certain cases, a limitedamount of out of roundness of the tire within the tolerance of the graphpaper indicator is acceptable and thus, only the graph paper indicatoris utilized. In other cases, less out of roundness of the tire isacceptable and thus, the needle indicator is utilized.

Many variations in the present invention are contemplated and includedby this specification. For example, needle indicator 84 may be mountedadjacent bed 25 in lieu of on top of box 81. The needle indicator whenmounted adjacent to the floating roadbed would provide an exactmeasurement of the movement of the bed. It will be evident from theabove description that the present invention provides a tire loading andtrueing apparatus. It will also be evident that this apparatus allowsthe operator to load the tire to restore the casing memory and to thencut the tire to eliminate the high spots of the tire withoutnecessitating remounting of the tire to a second machine. In addition,it will be evident from the above description that the present inventionprovides a tire loading and trueing apparatus having a pneumaticallydriven floating roadbed for restoring casing memory to the tire. Theapparatus also has an indicator which will record vertical movement ofthe floating roadbed.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in thedrawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered asillustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood thatonly the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that allchanges and modifications that come within the spirit of the inventionare desired to be protected.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for changing an out-of-round tire into a round tirecomprising:

a tire holder receiving said tire and operable to axially rotate saidtire, said tire having a tread surface;

a floating roadbed movable against said tread surface of said tire;

a cutter operable to remove a high portion of said tread surface whilesaid tire is rotating under load of said floating roadbed;

a first indicator connected to said roadbed indicating movement of saidroadbed with said tire rotating; means connected to said roadbed andoperable to radially load said tire with said roadbed as said tire isrotating; and wherein:

said means is an expandable pneumatic bag;

said roadbed has a frame with parallel rollers rotatably mountedthereon;

said first indicator has a stylus and a circular graph,

said ra h is onnected to said holder so as to rotate w ith said holder,said stylus IS positioned against said graph and is removably connectedto said roadbed.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 and further comprising:

' a second indicator operable to measure the contour of said tire.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 additionally comprising:

a base having said holder, said roadbed and said means mounted thereto,said base and said first indicator being movable as a unit to and fromsaid cutter.

4. An apparatus for changing an out-of-round tire into a round tirecomprising:

a tire holder receiving said tire and operable to axially rotate saidtire, said tire having a tread surface;

a floating roadbed movable against said tread surface of said tire;

a cutter operable to remove a high portion of said tread surface whilesaid tire is rotating under load of said floating roadbed;

means connected to said roadbed and operable to radially load said tirewith said roadbed as said tire is rotating; and wherein:

said holder has a pair of upstanding arms with top bearing ends, saidholder also has a horizontal threaded rod extending axially through saidtire and rotatably mounted to and through said ends, one of said arms ismovable to and from said other arm and said rod; and,

said roadbed has a frame with a pair of vertically extending channels orguides affixed thereto with bearing slidably engaging said arms.

1. An apparatus for changing an out-of-round tire into a round tirecomprising: a tire holder receiving said tire and operable to axiallyrotate said tire, said tire having a tread surface; a floating roadbedmovable against said tread surface of said tire; a cutter operable toremove a high portion of said tread surface while said tire is rotatingunder load of said floating roadbed; a first indicator connected to saidroadbed indicating movement of said roadbed with said tire rotating;means connected to said roadbed and operable to radially load said tirewith said roadbed as said tire is rotating; and wherein: said means isan expandable pneumatic bag; said roadbed has a frame with parallelrollers rotatably mounted thereon; said first indicator has a stylus anda circular graph, said graph is connected to said holder so as to rotatewith said holder, said stylus is positioned against said graph and isremovably connected to said roadbed.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 andfurther comprising: a second indicator operable to measure the contourof said tire.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 additionally comprising: abase having said holder, said roadbed and said means mounted thereto,said base and said first indicator being movable as a unit to and fromsaid cutter.
 4. An apparatus for changing an out-of-round tire into around tire comprising: a tire holder receiving said tire and operable toaxially rotate said tire, said tire having a tread surface; a floatingroadbed movable against said tread surface of said tire; a cutteroperable to remove a high portion of said tread surface while said tireis rotating under load of said floating roadbed; means connected to saidroadbed and operable to radially load said tire with said roadbed assaid tire is rotating; and wherein: said holder has a pair of upstandingarms with top bearing ends, said holder also has a horizontal threadedrod extending axially through said tire and rotatably mounted to andthrough said ends, one of said arms is movable to and from said otherarm and said rod; and, said roadbed has a frame with a pair ofvertically extending channels or guides affixed thereto with bearingslidably engaging said arms.